Fulham end pursuit of Joe Bennett and switch attention to two other targets after refusing to pay his wage demands

Fulham have turned their backs on a deal to sign Cardiff left back Joe Bennett, after he has demanded a weekly wage in excess of £30,000. Fulham are now set to turn their attention back to a previous target in Maxime Poundje, and young Porto left-back Rafa Soares.

The Joe Bennett deal looked all but done earlier in the week, as Fulham had activated his release clause and begun talks about a contract, at which point the deal hit a problem. Joe Bennett was asking for a wage in excess of £30,000 a week which is double what he is earning at Cardiff, and with Fulham being sensible spenders, they showed Bennett the door.

The Cardiff left back would have been a replacement for Scott Malone. After Malone’s departure, Ryan Sessegnon has been the first choice left back, but every Fulham fan can see that the young prospect is destined to go the route of Gareth Bale, and end up playing on the wing one day. Any fan can see that his attacking prowess is too great to be wasted at left back.

Rafa Soares may join Fulham on loan amidst interest from the whites. He is not currently Porto’s first choice in that position, as Miguel Layun and Alex Telles are both above him in the pecking order. The 22-year-old left back impressed while on loan with Rio Ave in Portugal last season. This signing would come after the arrival of fellow countryman Rui Fonte, and this move would help both players settle in.

The Maxime Poundje situation has also changed since this news. Similarly to his team mate Diego Rolan he remains hard to convince to join a Championship club as he feels it isn’t the best move for his career. This could still all change as he has been frozen out of the Bordeaux squad and as the window winds down he could be scrambling for a club, as could Rolan.